By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, December 29 -- In a week of civilians killed by air strikes, of armed rebels reportedly entering the UN's newest member state South Sudan, and the raiding of non-governmental organizations in Egypt, the UN of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on December 29 declined to confirm or take a position on any of these events.
At noon on Thursday questions about the raids on NGOs in Egypt, of opposition party headquarters and media organizations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and tear gassing of protesters in Sudan were submitted to Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky by Inner City Press.
By day's end, Ban's spokesman's office sent identical responses that "we are aware of the reports. We'll let you know if we have any comment" to the Egypt and bombing questions, and lumped the Sudan, South Sudan and DRC questions together and replied, "On the questions related to peacekeeping, DPKO is looking into them."
Not one of the questions was answered. Ironically, the only answer provided was to "confirm or deny that the UN was / is a client of StratFor, which was hacked by Anonymous."
Ban's spokesman office replied, "the United Nations subscribes to Stratfor, as it does to other news information services."
Inner City Press had also asked, "What type of information or analysis was the UN obtaining from StratFor? Under which UN budget item?"
These questions were not directly answered. But perhaps now with StratFor hacked, the UN knows nothing at all, even in countries like Sudan and the DR Congo where it is spending more than $1 billion in member states' funds purported to protect civilians.
Meanwhile, the head of UN Peacekeeping Herve Ladsous, the fourth and least competent Frenchman in a row to hold the post, appeared on the UN's web site on December 29 with a monologue bragging about DPKO's accomplishments.
For months Ladsous had dodged the press, canceling Q&A stakeouts and refusing to answer questions about Haiti, Rwanda and his role as chief of staff to disgraced former French foreign minister Michele Aliot-Marie in her flying on aircraft of cronies of Tunisian dictator Ben Ali.
Now, without any questions allowed, the UN on December 29 put online a nearly four minute monologue by Ladsous, recorded on December 5, bragging about the UN's deployment in Abyei (where UN peacekeepers stood by as civilians were killed), about the elections in Liberia and, of course, France's pet project, the toppling of Laurent Gbagbo in Ivory Coast. Video here.
Even in this propagandistic format, Ladsous could not come up with anything to say about the UN Mission in Haiti, charged with importing cholera and beating Haitian civilians, nor the $1 billion mission in Darfur -- "on the questions related to peacekeeping, DPKO is looking into them."
Here were and are Inner City Press' December 29 questions:
-On Egypt, what is the UN's reaction to / comment on the government's raid of NGOs? Is it the UN's understanding that the NGOs are only those receiving "foreign" funding? Or do they included entirely indigenous NGOs?
-Please confirm or deny that the UN was / is a client of StratFor, which was hacked by Anonymous. What type of information or analysis was the UN obtaining from StratFor? Under which UN budget item?
-What is the UN's reaction to / comment on Turkey's air raid, directed at Kurdish rebels, which reportedly killed civilians?
-Beyond the still pending question about UN response to looting of UDPS headquarters, does the UN dispute, and if not why did it not speak out about and act on, the reported targeting of journalists in the DRC?
Also on DRC, what is the UN's read out (and take-aways) from the meeting with UDPS' Jacquemin Shabani and the abuses he reported to the UN?
Can the UN confirm the entry into South Sudan by JEM which Sudan now alleges?
Separately, and in contrast to yesterday's answer about the (lack of) aftermath to the death of JEM's Khalil Ibrahim, is the UN aware of, and does UNAMID (or Mr. Menkerios) acknowledge some jurisdiction over, protests at Khartoum University by Darfuri students, related to Khalil Ibrahim's death? Either way, does the UN have any comment on the use of tear gas against protesters in a country in which the UN has two acting peacekeeping operations?
And the UN's answers:
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 4:11 PM
Subject: Questions
To: Matthew.Lee [at] InnerCityPress.com
On Egypt: We are aware of the reports. We'll let you know if we have any comment.
On Stratfor: The United Nations subscribes to Stratfor, as it does to other news information services.
On reports about Turkish air strike: We are aware of the reports. We'll let you know if we have any comment.
On the questions related to peacekeeping: DPKO is looking into them.
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